Statues of angels
by Love Goes On Forever
Summary: One maze. Two runners. Thirty gladers. One girl. One growing love. One way out. A thousand forgotten memories. We all know this story, right? Right...?


**Author's note: First off, I want to say a big thank you to those who supported my last story. You are all _amazing_ - I'm so, so glad that I decided to post it despite my doubts. Your reviews seriously warmed my heart, and I am incredibly happy that I could make someone's day better.**

**Didn't think I was going to write anything so soon, but here I am again, with... something like this. I have a thousand ideas per minute, but this is the one that was stuck in my head for a long time. And writing it went smoothly, so I dropped everything else and went with it.**

**This story is based on The Maze Runner. _Based_. Which means that I will not copy it down word by word; I started off in the moment Teresa had arrived and already changed a few things. **

**From then on, the plot will most likely be completely different, completely mine. That is, if I'll even continue - this might just be a one shot, or a two shot, I honestly don't know. To anyone who hasn't seen or read The Maze Runner yet - you should! The book is fantastic, as well as the movie. A lot of great actors star in it - including my one and only Dylan O'Brien, who never fails to amaze me with his acting talent. A lot of great characters are in it, too, like Newt, for example.**

**God, I love Newt.**

**If you're not in the fandom, this will be very confusing, but I explained some of the background story here already. I will include more details in the next chapters - if I'll end up writing them. *-***

**I just needed to get this idea out of my system for now.**

**Wow, okay, I shouldn't be allowed to write author notes, how long is this thing? o_O Thank you for your attention, either way. :D**

**Lots of love! xoxo**

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><p>Silence ruled the wooden hut, where disease and sorrow could almost be smelled in the summer air, mixing with a hint of denial. Elijah's breathing was uneven, yet somehow peaceful; his skin glistened with sweat, his forehead was crinkled in deep focus. He must have been dreaming.<p>

Leaning against the wall with his shoulder, Stefan stared at him intently. Damon knew he took everything more personally, hiding things under his skin; he was calm, steady, but in his eyes raged a lonely storm.

Eventually, he shook his head, dropping the weight of his worries out in the open.

'' This can't keep happening. ''

'' You heard Kol, '' one of the boys said. '' He thinks this is all Greenie's fault. How are we so sure it's not? ''

Stefan's gaze connected with Damon's, then traveled all around the small group of Gladers gathered around their unconscious leader.

'' Listen up, everybody. Nobody blames Damon, all right? He arrived here just like we all did. Helpless. Frightened. Kol needs some time to cool off. ''

And _this_ was perhaps why Elijah had chosen him as second in command; Stefan was warm and reasonable, he had a way with people. Like glue, he kept everyone together.

Everyone but himself.

Damon could feel guilt burning inside him, despite the fact that if he could go back in time, he probably wouldn't have done anything differently. He was proud of the fact that he had already killed one of the Grievers, because it brought the Gladers one step closer to getting out.

Or getting killed, as Kol had called it.

But it wasn't his fault that Elijah got stung. On the contrary. He fought as hard as he could to keep him alive. He was the one who had recklessly ran into the Maze when the doors were closing, tied him up on the vines to protect him from the Grievers, then made Klaus help him drag him back to the Glade safely.

He couldn't help wondering, though, what things would have been like if he hadn't arrived. Would Stefan have never gotten hurt? Would the Gladers ever leave this mad place?

Because Kol was right about one thing for sure; everything began to change the moment Damon showed up...

What startled him out of his thoughts was the sudden noise outside, a number of voices mingling together in a row, growing louder by the second. Everyone in the hut froze, alongside Stefan, who's head snapped in the direction of the wooden door.

'' I know that sound... ''

Out he ran, everyone else behind him.

Through the surprise rising, Damon could make out clear sentences thrown all around him. '' It's the box. ''

'' But what is it doing here? It's too early! ''

It was, indeed. The box arrived only once a month, with a new boy and a bunch of supplies. It has been three days since it arrived with Damon, so what could it be possibly doing here now?

Moving forward in the blinding sun, he made his way through the other Gladers, stopping only when he reached the deep, square shaped hole in the ground, where the box was placed. Stefan was already inside it, his feet planted at the very bottom, eyes fixed on whatever the metal prison concealed.

'' What do you see in there? '' Damon heard Matt ask. He heard him _very_ well; the question was almost shouted into his ear, since the blonde was standing right behind him.

Stefan looked up at them, confused, his clear eyes astonished. '' It's... a girl. ''

'' A _girl_? '' Jeremy echoed in disbelief, the youngest of the Gladers, his mouth hanging open as he leaned over the hole, trying to get a better look.

Damon's hands steadied him just before he fell in, wrapping firmly around his shoulders.

He narrowed his eyes, absentmindedly leaning over as well, drinking in the fragile creature sent to them. She wasn't moving.

'' Maybe she's dead, '' someone suggested.

Stefan knelt down beside her, placing two of his fingers on her wrist. The girl's skin was dark; she was beautiful. Black, curly hair around her shoulders, long eyelashes, full lips.

But it wasn't the listed features that made her beautiful; she just simply was, in a way... Damon couldn't explain it.

'' Well, she has a pulse, '' Stefan informed them. '' There's something in her hand... ''

'' What is it? '' Jeremy asked eagerly. Damon reminded himself to hold him tight, because while the box wasn't that far down, he would still be hurting if he fell.

Stefan leaned over the girl, took the mysterious object from her hand and looked up at them again, squinting in the sunlight.

'' It's a note. ''

With a light frown, he opened up the small, white piece of paper, and read the words slowly.

'' It says... _she's the last one. Ever._ ''

Damon could feel unease freeze his insides; the Gladers looked around each other, some asking the others _what_ that was supposed to mean, some keeping their questions to themselves. Like him.

What happened next, however, stopped everyone in tracks. The girl jumped to a sitting position, so abruptly that the boys gathered around the box jumped back with a fright. There she was, hazel eyes wide opened, shining, unfocused, mouth gasping out a name.

'' Damon. ''

Then she grabbed Stefan's arm for support, her eyes falling closed again; and she drifted away. She would have hit the cold ground if Stefan's arm hadn't supported her fall.

The shock that Damon felt at that moment was nothing compared to all those other feelings he couldn't quite put a name on. His cheeks burned. He could feel Jeremy's head lifting as the small boy turned to gape at him, much like all the other Gladers.

A moment of silence ensued, before Kol crossed him arms.

'' Still think I'm overreacting? ''

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><p>They acted quickly. The girl had been laid down near Elijah, since the hut was the only place they usually kept the sick. She, of course, wasn't sick in any form, just fast asleep. Or something of that kind.<p>

'' Why isn't she waking up? ''

'' I don't know, '' Stefan said, cocking his head to the side as he studied her face. '' Give it time. ''

Damon sat right by her side, waiting, probably the most impatient of all. He had nothing better to do one way or another; not until sundown.

So he watched her and he analyzed. Stefan's words from that first night by the fire echoed in his troubled mind.

_No one survives a night in the Maze._

He managed to survive. Not only to survive, but also to kill a Griever. It had sparked some kind of hope in the other boys; he could see that. After three years of nothing, something changed.

After three years of Klaus and Tyler running the Maze, looking for a way out, there was finally a real chance.

But that was not how Kol saw it.

_We have been coexisting with these creatures for three years! Now you've killed one of them. Who knows what that could mean for us? _

Damon wouldn't really call being surrounded by a Maze with no memories of their past a _life_. He certainly wouldn't call what they had with the Grievers coexistence, since as the night came, and they crawled out of their holes, they killed anybody they would come across in that Maze. Any poor soul who couldn't find a way out before sundown, before the doors closed for the night, was doomed to die painfully.

Perhaps that wasn't much of an issue now that they had runners; those faster, stronger than the others, those who already knew the Maze better than anyone else. But as the first Gladers arrived here, forced to learn the rules by themselves, many lives were lost.

But then, he thought gloomily, no Grievers were needed to decrease the numbers of the Gladers. No wonder some have lost their minds trying to find relief in death.

Now, however, it was different. Something was coming; but what? First Stefan had been stung in the daylight, then a girl showed up in the box... a girl who had recognized Damon...

'' Somebody has to stay with her, '' Stefan said, his fingers drumming lightly upon the entry.

'' I can do it, '' Tyler offered. '' I'm staying with Elijah anyway. ''

'' No. You can't be in two places at once. Elijah has the fever, when he wakes up he can be dangerous. You can't leave him for a second. Someone else should stay with the girl. ''

'' I'll do it, '' Damon said, looking up.

Kol shook his head scornfully.

'' Need I remind you about your punishment, Greenie? One night in the cellar with no food. ''

Unfortunately, even though Damon had been graced with the tiltle of a runner, he couldn't avoid his punishment for entering the Maze without permission. Kol threw a fit when he heard just how mild the punishment was, but he still seemed very keen on making it happen.

'' Then I'll stay with her until sundown. ''

'' I don't think so. ''

'' Look - ''

The girl stirred in her sleep. Her hand began searching for a nameless thing, touching the soft surface of the sheets on the wooden bed, trying to grasp them. Instinctively, slowly, Damon reached his hand out towards her. At first he only brushed the gentle skin of her fingers; when she felt that, she stilled, then immediately closed his hand in hers.

That was it.

It looked like she was in a state of dreaming, but it was far from ordinary. Kind of like Elijah, though his dreams - or nightmares - were caused by the poison from the Griever's sting.

'' I think that's settled, then, '' Stefan said, a small, amused smile playing on his lips.

With a clenched jaw and a shake of his head, Kol left the hut.

Stefan sighed quietly.

'' We'll watch over her when Kol will come for you. ''

Damon nodded thankfully, though he wasn't sure what he was thankful for. Perhaps merely for the support.

And so off Stefan went, just like the other Gladers, leaving him and Tyler to rest in the loud silence as the sky outside darkened slowly. Twilight was coming, indicating that soon the walls of the Maze were going to open up, and Klaus was going to walk through them after the whole day of exploring what he knew off by heart.

Well, Damon was going to take the damn punishment, then explore the Maze anew with Klaus tomorrow without any interruptions - they had to visit that section they killed the Griever in, there _had to_ be some answers.

He was going to take Jeremy back to his parents, and he was going to lead the Gladers out.

The wind hummed softly outside, soothing his senses, clearing his mind until it was set only on one goal: hope.

The girl laying beside him was a big part of it all, even if he didn't know.

* * *

><p>The next morning, it was a relief to hear footsteps approaching. Damon could certainly imagine worse punishment than that, but he didn't enjoy being isolated from the other Gladers and having no food for the night.<p>

( Although, he might have cheated a little, because Jeremy brought him some. )

Stefan's face came into his view, blocking out the blue, blue sky.

'' I guess you'll be interested in hearing the news. Your girl is awake. ''

There was something about the way Stefan said _your girl_ that made Damon feel weird, if not a little nervous. Curiosity boiled over. What connection did she have to him? Never before had a girl entered the Glade.

Never before him. And he could swear it was her face he saw in his latest dream...

He stood up abruptly, his eyes wide and eager.

'' What did she say? ''

Stefan's brows pulled together; there was a playful note to his voice. '' Not much, actually. Except a threat or two. She locked herself up, threw our things at us, then run away and hid in the forest. ''

Damon only blinked in response, making Stefan crack a smile. '' Honestly, if all girls are like this... I have to say I'm not sure it's safe, but I'd be glad to meet more of them. Here, '' he said, opening the cellar up smoothly. '' You ought to go and see her. She was saying your name in her sleep. If she remembers you, maybe you could get her to calm down and come back to talk to us. And give us our swords back. ''

In awe, Damon stepped outside onto the green grass, locking his eyes on the sea of trees ahead of him, where she was apparently hiding.

_What_ a girl.


End file.
